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Articles

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): KAUNIYAH: Jurnal Sains Islam dan Peradaban

DARI BAGHDAD KE NUSANTARA: Adaptasi dan Reorganisasi Pemikiran Sains Kedokteran Islam Abad Pertengahan dalam Naskah-Naskah Kuno Nusantara

Submitted
July 30, 2026
Published
2026-07-31

Abstract

Medical historiography often separates Medieval Islamic medical science from Nusantara’s traditional healing practices, which are frequently perceived merely as local-empirical or magical traditions lacking a structured theoretical foundation. This study aims to analyze the transmission routes, conceptual adaptation, and reorganization of classical Islamic medical thought from the Baghdad era into ancient Nusantara manuscripts (Kitab Tibb, Tajul Muluk, and Lontara Pabbura). Employing a qualitative method based on a systematic literature review and philological-epistemological analysis, this research compares Ibn Sina’s classical medical text Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb with Nusantara manuscripts. The findings indicate that: (1) medical knowledge transmission was accelerated through cosmopolitan scholar-student networks and Haramain-Nusantara maritime trade routes; (2) a conceptual recontextualization of humoral theory and temperament (mizaj) occurred, rationally adapted to tropical bioclimatology; and (3) Nusantara scholars reorganized the pharmacopeia by substituting Middle Eastern medicinal materials with local biodiversity based on empirical testing principles (mujarabat) while maintaining scientific efficacy. This study concludes that Nusantara medical manuscripts represent an inclusive and scientific form of Nusantara Applied Medical Science. Its implication deconstructs colonial dichotomous narratives while affirming Nusantara’s active role in global Islamic science history.

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